No Pep Talk Needed

Fans and pundits alike were licking their lips when Bayern Munich were drawn to play Barcelona in the first semi-final of this year's UEFA Champions League. Barcelona have not been at their best in Europe this season, by their own standards and has piqued everybody's attention as to how they are going to cope against an all-conquering Bayern Munich side.

The interesting sub-plot to this face-off between the two giants is Pep Guardiola. The man who will succeed Jupp Heynckes as manager of Bayern next season managed the 'Blaugrana' for four seasons between 2008 and 2012. While in-charge at the Camp Nou, Guardiola amassed 14 trophies and is the most successful Barca coach to date in terms of trophies.

As you would expect, the talk of Heynckes ringing up Guardiola to try and extract a few keys to victory from the Spaniard against his former side have been rife ever since. So before Bayern's semi-final clash with Wolfsburg in the German Cup, in which they mauled their opponents 6-1, their manager was quizzed on this very matter. Heynckes explained that he would not be seeking out his successor for advice and that if he needed any, he would turn to Dutch legend Johann Cruyff.

“Pep cannot reveal details about Barcelona, out of respect for his former club,” Heynckes told reporters this week. “But I also will not have to ask him. I know Spanish football well and Barcelona. If I wanted to call someone, I would choose Johan Cruyff, because he invented Barca’s playing system."


He went on to explain how it was a massive game in the season and that they are taking it one game at a time: "It’s a big game for the club and of course for the fans, but the team has to understand that we must stay focused on our next game, because we are not playing Barcelona right now."